Particularly in order to examine functional processes, images recorded with the aid of different modalities, in particular images of a highly resolving modality and of a correspondingly sensitive modality, are frequently observed jointly in the course of an examination. There have been developed to this end so-called hybrid modalities that combine a modality having a high spatial resolution, for example magnetic resonance (MR) or computed tomography (CT) with a modality having a high sensitivity (nuclear medicine, for example PET (Positron Emission Tomography) or SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography)). Some of these machines permit the simultaneous and isocentric imaging of the examination volume.
The combination of two modalities in one machine gives rise to an examination of enormous data volumes that must be assessed for making the diagnosis. To this end, data from hybrid systems are frequently viewed in a superposed display, as fused images.
In a method known for this purpose, image data records from various modalities are evaluated with the aid of manual post-processing functions. Respectively suitable image data records of the same anatomy are loaded into an application and visualized there in superposed fashion, whereupon a user can compile a fusion image manually. Such a procedure is, however, prone to error as well as being labor intensive and time consuming.